Black Power Movement 1966

This movement took place during the Civil Rights Movement and was advocating for equality amongst African Americans. Some key people in this movement were Stokely Carmichael, Charles Hamilton, and the famous Martin Luther King, Jr.. This movement really took off when Carmichael proclaimed "Black Power!" at a protest march in June 1966 in Mississippi. This was widely debated especially after CORE was created the previous year. To African Americans of the time, Black Power was all they had. It was their dignity and their pride which was constantly discredited and stripped from them. This movement pressed for all African Americans to come together as family, learn about their past, formulate goals and plans, lead groups, and most importantly, attempt to end white racism. Although, a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement was the idea of integration. Members of the Black Power Movement such as Charles Hamilton disagreed with the idea of integration because he thought that it would sacrifice part of their identity. White people were often afraid of the members of this movement because of the excess of Black Nationalism that they displayed. This ideology attempted to advocate for self-determination and self-identity for African Americans. Often times, this nationalist attitiude created several organizations that emphasized the people's ideas. One of these organizations was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This is slightly hypocritical of the black power movement supporters because it's often thought that they were the cause of the many city riots and the threats of having a race war. A widely known public event that showed the effects of the Black Power Movement was at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. When Tommie Smith and John Carlos medaled in the 200, they each raised a hand wearing a black glove. The entire world was watching the Olympics, therefore the controversy was debated often. Without a doubt, the effects of the Black Power Movement were vital to the future of Civil Rights in America for African Americans.
"black power movement." American History.ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.

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Stokely Carmichael speaking in public.
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